Some of the "best of" selections of the new Rural Roundtable, a co-production of the Daily Yonder and National Rural Assembly: the book by Forrest Pritchard, the documentary on the rock and roll history of Muscle Shoals by director Greg 'Freddy' Camalier, and (top right) musician Joe O’Connell of Elephant Micah.

Rural Roundtable: The Best of 2015

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When 2016 hits at the end of the week, you’ll see a recurring column we’re calling the Rural Roundtable in the e-pages of the Yonder. The idea is to team up with the National Rural Assembly to develop a list of folks we can poll with questions about issues large and small. We’ll compile the answers and share them with you.

But like an old saying probably goes, why wait for a good thing? Let’s get going by first looking back. We asked our roundtable what rural-ish media they liked last year. Books, movies, TV shows, podcasts, bathroom stall scribblings, and whatever else they wanted to throw in.

Here’s what they said. (Add your favorites in the comments [register once for Disqus] or via the Daily Yonder Facebook page.)

Interesting conversations about rural arts launched in 2015 on Twitter with the hashtag#RuralAW. Listening in on artists and art lovers speaking on Twitter about rural arts in their communities is an opportunity that I would never have without social media.

In 2015, I noticed new perspectives on farming and farmers coming out of New York City. Heritage Radio Network, which broadcasts online out of Brooklyn, featured numerous interviews (most are archived) with rural farmers from around the country. I’m also enjoying the agrarian literature reviews out of New York University on Twitter at@AgrarianNYU. Moderated by John Linstrom, this group of graduate students posts readings and reviews in the first “Farm To Text” effort that I have seen.

Elephant Micah is Joe O’Connell. I think of O’Connell as a “musician’s musician” in that many of his musical peers sight him as an influence and more mainstream musicians are counted among his fans. That includes Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers who recently put his album on a “Best Of 2015” list. O’Connell is a folklorist who now calls the Triangle of North Carolina home, but his songwriting and the sonic landscapes he creates on “Where in our Woods” speak to his rural Indiana roots.

One of my favorite discoveries was a documentary on Netflix called Muscle Shoals. If you are a classic rock and soul music fan, this is a must see. It is the story of Rick Hall and his Fame Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Nostalgia at its finest….”Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers, woo hoo hoo, and they been known to pick a song or two….”

I pick StoryCorps’ Military Voices Initiative as a top rural-themed media offering for 2015. While only a portion of its person-to-person recorded interviews involve rural people, there are something like 5 million military veterans who live in rural America. Hearing these short conversations between pairs of loved ones, or friends, or people who served together, helps me understand the people, not just the politics or strategy, of the military. It is also important to me that these oral histories are archived in at the Library of Congress, available as podcast, on the website, and occasionally broadcast on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Whitney Kimball Coe, East Tennessee, coordinator for the National Rural Assembly

Throughout the year I’ve watched Big Switch Farm in Eastern Kentucky emerge as a cultural and agricultural movement of sorts on social media. Following the Big Switch family on Instagram is both thrill and comfort as you watch Lora Smith and Joe Schroeder and their children carry out the work of the seasons on their organic hemp farm. Every image tells the story of Big Switch: it’s a gathering place for friends and family, a place steeped in Appalachian history and heritage, and an entrepreneurial endeavor in a region that is in the midst of great economic transition.

My favorite experience as a rural advocate this year was participating the 2015 National Rural Assembly, held in Washington, D.C. (Full disclosure: I’m the coordinator of the National Rural Assembly). I don’t think I’m alone among the 200 or so participants in feeling like the 2015 Gathering was special. The Assembly brought together federal officials and Cabinet members, funders, policy makers,and grassroots rural leaders and focused attention on the future of rural communities. It’s unusual when people from different sectors, geographies, age groups, and experiences can find common cause. The diversity of participants and experiences yielded some incredibly rich content.

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Kelley Snowden, East Texas, college educator.

Red ClayAfter a rainOrange moundsOn the side of the roadIn the gardenTiny grains held betweenJawsPushed out of tunnelsNow in perfect reposeClay made homeFire ants

I planted mint in clayTough rootsBreak up the dirtLeaving the soilReady to be blendedI tore out the plantsCareful to getEvery bitLest it spreadClay made homePurple bearded Irises

Between the green bladesIn amongst the cormsNut grass andSmall orange moundsA reminder of mintTells me I didn’t get it allI shouldOn hands and kneesWeed the wayward bedBut I only lookAnd dream of timeClay made homeBeneath my fingernails